


Somebody I Use to Know

by maougha



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Kink Meme, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-11-11
Packaged: 2017-12-04 20:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/714649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maougha/pseuds/maougha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A kink meme fill: The Man in the Moon has chosen Jack Frost as the newest Guardian. He will help turn the tides against Pitch Black and his Nightmares, and he will help restore the children's belief in the magical wonders of the world. All he has to do is make nice with a certain ex he hasn't seen in over forty-five years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
_But you didn't have to cut me off_  
 _Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing_  
 _And I don't even need your love_  
 _But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough_  
 _No you didn't have to stoop so low_  
 _Have your friends collect your records and then change your number_  
 _I guess that I don't need that though_  
 __Now you're just somebody that I used to know_ _

* * *

_Darkness. That's the first thing I remember. It was dark, and it was cold. And I was scared._

_But then . . . then I saw the moon. It was so big and it was so bright, and it seemed to chase the darkness away. And when it did . . . I wasn't scared anymore._

He doesn't know what's going on, his first memories are of floating there in the cold dark water. It's weird but he seems to intuitively know what things are. This is **water** and he's under the **ice** until the **moonlight** breaks through. Now he's standing on a frozen **pond** , and he can't just stand there, he has to find **people** like him! He starts back to the shore with no real destination in mind. He knows that he has to find help but he doesn't actually know where to look for it.

 

There's something, he hits it with his feet, looking down at it he sees it's a wooden stick. Curious, he picks it up and almost immediately the stick starts to glow a cold blue. He thinks this is odd, he knows that sticks don't do that even though he doesn't remember playing with any sticks before. It surprises him and he almost drops it. The base of the stick smacks the ground and frost shoots out from where it meets the earth. It quickly spreads across the ice and he is really confused about that.

 

He taps the stick against a few trees sending frost up their trunks. The fern like shapes are interesting and also kind of pretty. He decides he likes it, with that thought in mind he swings the stick more confidently , before he starts running across the frozen pond. He gives the stick another, mightier, swing and a gust of wind takes him by surprise high up into the sky. He floats for a moment before the wind lets him go again and he falls to the trees below. He grabs hold of one of the many branches breaking his fall before pulling himself up. From this vantage point he can see a small town off in the distance. Maybe, just maybe he can find help there?

 

It's a collection of simple timber homes with thatched roofs. He doesn't actually know what a thatched roof is. But somehow he knows that's the right word for it. He comes in for a landing, and it's a rocky one at best. Picking himself up he promises himself that he will work on that later. As he makes his way into the town, settlers are warming their hands by campfires. He doesn't recognize anyone and he's not exactly sure why he calls them settlers. They look pretty settled enough already.

 

"Hello. Hello. Good evening, ma'am." He smiles and she walks right past him. "Ma'am?"

 

None of the grownups seem to have any time for him. So when he sees a young boy running towards him he tries with the kid, crouching down to his level he says. "Oh, ah, excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"

 

The boy ignores him too and runs right through him. He staggers backwards in shock. Panic rises in him because he knows that this isn't right.

 

"Hello! Hello!"

 

The townsfolk continue to pass through him and no one can see him. it's too much, it's just too much. Shaken, he turns and retreats into the forest.

 

_My name is Jack Frost, how do I know that? The moon told me so. But that was all he ever told me. And that was a long, long time ago._


	2. Chapter 2

Jack Frost, it should have been a household name. Kids around the world should have been saying, "Jack Frost! He's so cool, I love Jack Frost." They get a snow day and they should say, "Jack Frost came! Now we can go outside and play! Wahoo! No school today!"

 

_"Who's Jack Frost?"_

_"No one, honey. It's just an expression."_

If someone had bothered to ask him why he had decided to follow the Jamie home. He would chalk it up to his having a fun day with the kid. Even though Jamie couldn't see him, just like every other child, to Jack it just felt right that he hang around with and look out for the kid. In truth it wasn't just Jamie, He had been living in Burgess his whole existence, barring a few decades Down Under, and during that time he had always felt drawn towards a certain group of people.

 

It had started with that little girl, he couldn't remember her name now, it had been so long ago. But he could still remember her. She had stood at the edge of his pond and she had been so sad. It had always annoyed him that people couldn't see or hear him. But that had been the first time it had angered him. After that day he had decided to pay special attention to that girl and her family. Which was a small one at best, a mom and her only daughter.

 

There had been a father and a son, but he hadn't found out what had happened to either. It was a combination of not wanting to pry and the fact that he really couldn't ask that kept his curiosity in check.

 

He adopted them that very winter and even though they couldn't see or hear him. Jack Frost would visit them each night and leave them gifts. Pictures on their windows, it wasn't much, but the mother and the daughter seemed to enjoy waking each morning and looking at them.

 

The mother had told her daughter that it was her brother, trying to tell her to not be sad anymore. The very first time someone had ignored him and given credit to someone else for his work and he hadn't mind at all. Sure the trend would continue for many years to come and it would become a very sore spot for him. But for just a few moments each morning that little girl would look so happy and her mom would be able to tell stories about her eldest son, Jackson, kid had a funny name.

 

He had watched that little girl grow up and start a family of her own. He had watched her kids grow and he had watched her kid's, kid's grow. The family name changed a few times, the girl's family name was also something that he couldn't recall. But he knew the family's' newest name and that was all that mattered.

 

 

" . . . I did this jump and it was amazing and I slide under a car and it was awesome! Then I was flying down this hill and I was like whoosh, whoosh, whoosh through all these cars, and . . ."

 

Jack chuckled as he settled in to listen to the tale. True he had been there. But he didn't have any other pressing engagements. With nothing but time on his hands, the winter spirit could do whatever he pleased.

 

"and then Bam! The sofa hit me, and, and see?" He watches Jamie open wide and point to a gap in his teeth. "Ah hoo hay ow!"

 

"And back to the stupid tooth." Jack grumbles, a gust of wind caught him, flipping him upside down, grumbling more, Jack grabbed hold to the eve of the house pulling himself back down to the window. Now hanging upside down over the edge of the Bennett's home, he felt just a little foolish.

 

"Wind!" He whined, the wind ruffled his hair affectionately and Jack turned his attention back to the family. "Fine, I'll stop bad mouthing the stupid Tooth Fairy."  

 

Jack watched as Jamie's mom picked his little sister, Sophie, up from the bed. She lift the little girl over her shoulder and when the girl was good and out of the way. The family dog jumped up and started licking Jamie's face.

 

"Now straight to bed, mister. If you stay up trying to see her, the Tooth Fairy won't come."

 

"Mom . . . "

 

With a pang, the window frosted over, and Jack flipped himself back upright. He doesn't like the fact that he would begrudge Jamie this little joy. He's not jealous of the Tooth Fairy! He really isn't. But he does wish, he does wonder . . .

 

He looks up at the moon.

 

"If there's something I'm doing wrong, can you, can you just tell me what it is?" He doesn't expect a response and isn't surprised when all the moon does is twinkle down at him. "Because I've tried everything, and no one ever sees me."

 

Jack, growing more frustrated, points his staff towards the moon. Not that he thinks he could frighten his answers out of the silent satellite. But it makes him feel better and even if he can only make the moon tell him to stop acting the fool. Will at least someone would finally be talking to him.

 

"You put me here, the least you can do is tell me, tell me why."

 

He waits a beat and the moon shines silently down. Turning away in frustration,  Jack leaps off the Bennett's roof, and onto a telephone pole. With an ease that most tightrope walker's would be envious of, he walks across the telephone wire tapping here and there with his staff. The wires freeze and if a few important calls are dropped that night, whatever.

 

Suddenly a stream of sand zips by him, then another, and another one which swoops around in front of him. Laughing and suddenly in a better mood he turns to look up but this time not at the moon.

 

"Right on time Sandman."

 

The Sandman's dreams had always been a guilty pleasure of his.  As an immortal being Jack had never been under the Sandman's protection. The beautiful dreams the little man crafted and protected were for the young children of the world and no one else. But Jack hadn't thought that rule very fare, and he had it on good authority that the Guardians enjoyed their friends special blessings when sleeping too. So he didn't see any problem with every now and again snagging a pleasant dream or two.

 

The dream sand descended from the sky drifting into windows all around the town. Running along the telephone wires now, Jack reaches out to intercept one of the passing streams. It does its thing, looking deep within his mind or soul, and suddenly the stream of sand is a bunny. It turns towards him before continuing on its way and he watches after it longingly.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this was a short chapter and its only purpose was to give me the chance to use Pitch's point of view in this story later on. Here's two chapters at once! I can't promise this will ever happen again.

Dreams were not hard to follow. Golden and glowing with so much hope and joy as they were. It was part of the reason why Tsar Lunar had charged Snderson ManSnoozie with guarding the dreams of children. They were lain bare one and all both children's and adult's dreams. But of course a child's dream was more innocent and powerful. The things that went bump in the night sought out a child's dream before that of an adult's.

 

A small stream of dream sand coiled above the head of a sleeping child. Its connection to the sandman broken, the sand took on the shape of the girls dreams, a unicorn with her riding atop of it.

 

"Oh, I thought I heard the clippity-clop of a unicorn. What an adorable dream!"  Pitch Black, one of those things that went bump in the night, almost looked touched as the dream unfolded in front of him.  "And look at her, precious child, so sweet, so full of hope and wonder, why there's only one thing missing - a touch of fear."

 

Pitch reached out skimming his fingers along the image of the unicorn before gouging them into it. The golden sand slowly turned ashen and black. The dark sand spreading out from the gaping wound left when he drew his hand back. The girl flinched in her sleep and Pitch snickered in delight.

 

"That never gets old!" He leaned forward whispering into the child's ear. "Feel your fear. Come on, that's right."

 

The once golden dream sand morphed black under his manipulation. It was something horrific now, a shadow of the dream it once was, a nightmare. Gleefully, Pitch grabbed the nightmare by the mane.

 

"Now, I want you to go tell the others the wait is over."

 

He tossed the thing aside, and after taking one more look at the little girl, stepped back into the shadows cast by the girl's nightlight. Pitch stepped back and then out onto the street from the shadows of an adjacent alley. Careful to avoid the rays of moonlight he looked to the night sky.

 

"Don't look at me like that, old friend. You must have known this day would come. My Nightmares are finally ready." He smirked up at the moon. "Are your Guardians?"


	4. Chapter 4

He's walking along the telephone wires now watching the last few wisps of dream sand disappear from the sky. The sandman has finished his work early tonight; Jack thinks it might have something to do with the Aurora he was sure he had spotted in the northern skies. North must have put out an emergency call to the Guardians, surly the northern lights that bright and far south couldn't have been natural?

 

Leaping over a house and letting a current of air take a hold of him. Jack floated, coming to land in a tree, it was late, and no one would be out now. Not in the little town of Burgess anyway. He might as well get some shut eye himself; he had the promise of sweet dreams to look forward to tonight.

 

He remembered the bunny hopping away.

 

Bittersweet dreams tonight it was then.

 

"Wow!" Jack pitched forward when something flew up alongside of him. He caught a flash of brilliant green and vibrant purple, lots of it, before catching himself on a gentle breeze. Hanging there for a moment before dropping like a stone to the ground bellow, he twisted angling his staff upwards; they were in his sight now.

 

Birds?

 

"Hi Jack!"

 

Talking birds?

 

"Oh it's so nice to finally meet you." The talking bird says. Jack flinches back when it comes towards him. Now that it's closer he can see that this is no bird, neither are the little things flapping around it. The Tooth Fairy and her little mini fairies are grinning down at him and one breaks away from the group getting just a little too his mouth.

 

"The Tooth-mmph!" Jack got a mouthful of fairy when he tried to speak. Sputtering and spitting he frowned at the little thing that had jumped back in fright. She looked up at him with such big and bright shining eyes that he just couldn't find it in him to stay mad. A long time ago when the idea of meeting a few of the Guardians had came up and been kicked around. Jack had been warned about the Tooth Fairy's fascination/borderline obsession with teeth. That strange quirk was shared amongst her army of mini fairies which were as much her children as they were pieces of her. Or that was how it had been explained to him.

 

"Sorry Baby Tooth, here have a look, but not to close." He opened wide and the little fairy zoomed back in for a closer look, this time keeping out of his mouth. The other mini-fairies followed and soon Jack had a little line up of Tooth Fairies each waiting to take a gander at his teeth.

 

"Ladies, ladies, there will be time for that later." The Tooth Fairy had joined them down on the ground at some point. Hovering just enough that her feet didn't actually touch the concrete sidewalk. She smiled while waving her fairies back over to her. "Forgive them, but they wanted to see if they were really as white as they say."

 

Jack blinked and nodded not knowing what to say to that. In over three hundred years he had only touched a tooth brush maybe a dozen or more times. It had been a request, will more of a demand really, when he had started his Easter Chocolate Diet. The Tooth Fairy struck fear even into the most hardened of warrior's hearts. It was a little fact that Jack loved to break out and tease . . .

 

Jack shook his head, now was not the time for trips down memory lane. Fixing a smile on his face and getting ready to jump the first breeze he could, he said. "Will if you're done answering these very thought provoking questions, Lady Tooth, then I guess me and my pearly whites will just be going then."

 

He waved, "Bye" and jumped.

 

"Jack, wait!" The Tooth fairy followed after him keeping excellent pace. But Jack had the wind itself on his side. There was no way she could catch him.

 

The wind died down and Jack tumbled none the too gently to the ground. Mini fairies buzzed around his head along with a few stars. Jack went to tell them to leave him alone but found his mouth full again.

 

"Oh my, are they hurt, chipped, cracked?" Tooth prodded each incisor and molar with the pads of her fingers, searching for even the slightest of fractures amongst his teeth. "It's ok they look fine."

 

He would have said that he could have told her that. But the Tooth Fairy's fingers were still in his mouth. He honestly wasn't sure if he should be worried or flattered or just weird out by the woman's actions. In the end he settled on flattered because hey, it was nice to be appreciated.

 

"I'm sorry Jack, I didn't mean to startle you, and I really didn't mean to almost ruin your perfect teeth."

 

She sounded more pained when she spoke of ruining his teeth. Jack would have frowned at that, but she still hadn't given his mouth back, and didn't look like she would be any time soon either.

 

"Umph ah mah mawth pwease?"

 

"Sorry?" Tooth pulled back letting go of his face. She frowned down at her fingers and Jack was a little embarrassed to note that he had drooled a little on her. "I didn't quite catch that."

 

"I said get your . . . never mind. What do you want Lady Tooth? It's not often you grace me with your presence." He wanted to be belligerent and rude. After the day he'd had and how indirectly this woman had made it so. He wanted to be rude and tell her to go fly into oncoming traffic or something.

 

But he'd been long ago trained in how to properly address the Tooth Fairy. In no uncertain terms was he to ever show her any cheek.  Santa Clause, North, he could disrespect all day. But the Tooth Fairy, Toothiana, Queen of the something or another, he'd stopped listening to Aster as he went on with the lady's various titles. He got the gist of the impromptu lecture, Tooth was awesome and Jack was not to under any circumstances bother her with his silly ways.

 

 Jack flinched at the memory that he'd tried really hard to keep at bay. It hadn't been their first fight. That honor went to the little disagreement over whether or not Jack should stay in the Warren. Aster hadn't made it a secret that he disapproved of Jack's nomadic life style and he downright hated that Jack called a lake of all places home. Jack had rallied against the idea pointing out that he'd been getting on fine enough for a hundred and fifty plus years and that he didn't need any charity from Aster. He was secretly pleased though, when even though he had said so time and time again to let it go, that Aster wouldn't.

 

He'd moved into the Warren that very week and it wasn't until many, many years later that. No he was not going there right now.

 

"Jack Frost, are you even listening to me?" The Tooth Fairy was giving him a very cross look and her little fairies were shaking their heads at him. Will all but the one, Baby Tooth.

 

"Sorry Lady Tooth, I was not."

 

The Tooth Fairy heaved an overly dramatic sigh. "Jack I told you to call me Tooth. That's what my friends call me. Listen we don't have time for me to go over this. So are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

 

"To go to the North Pole, Jack," the exasperation wasn't so feigned this time, Jack could tell, as she pulled out from somewhere on her person what looked like a snow globe. "This is our ticket to North's work shop. First class portal transport courtesy of Santa himself, what do you say, Jack?"

 

"Where did you keep that thing?" Jack blinked. Then again Aster had a weird habit of pulling things from nowhere too. Must have been a thing people who didn't wear pants just learned to do he guessed.

 

Toothiana didn't dignify his question with a response. "North's workshop the globe room," she spoke holding the globe close to her face before giving it a good shake and tossing it over her shoulder. The explosion of bright lights, reds and greens, solidified into what Jack could only describe as a window suspended in midair.

 

"Do I actually have a choice? Will I wake up in the middle of the night toothless if I say no?"

 

The Tooth Fairy looked like she was giving the idea some thought. Jack's eyes widened when she shot him what could only be described as the scariest look ever. That smile!

 

"Well, they are awfully nice teeth. They would look good on the mantle place!"

 

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" This time when Jack leapt into the air, summoning the winds to keep him afloat, the spirit of the wind didn't deny him.

 

The Tooth Fairy smiled, "I was only joking, Jack, really."

 

"I'm not taking any chances!" Jack shot back. Then he grinned and shot towards the portal only to stop just before entering. "Sorry ladies first!"

 

"Oh what a gentleman," Tooth smiled fluttering up behind him. "Nice try Jack, but in you go."

Jack yelped as he felt both the strong push from the Tooth Fairy and the equally strong pull of the portal. His last thought before the world went white around him, 'will it was worth a try!'


	5. Chapter 5

Hot chocolate may have been one of the few things Christmas had going for it. E. Aster Bunnymund, Bunny to most, thought has he knocked back his third mug. 

A golden picture, comprised of little pieces of sand, floated above his friend's head. The Sandman was enjoying his fifth glass of eggnog and trying to get Phil's attention for another round. If Aster was reading the picture right anyway. What else could the gold colored glasses and jug filling them up mean?

Aster shook his head in exasperation. If North didn't hurry up and get on with it, well, he wouldn't be picking up a drunken Sandman anytime soon. The blasted stuff was killer to try to get out of fur. 

"Montreal, sector six: ten premolars, eight incisors and twelve canines. Steer clear of the wild goose migration!"

Tooth was still talking shop. However, after that little dig about it being that time of the year when cavities just rolled in. He wasn't all that inclined to care all that much. So instead, like Sandy, he made his intentions for another drink known. Just a little louder and ruder then the Sandman was doing it. Also, if he was plotting just how to slip an extra sugary treat to the little ankle-biters of the world, while he waited for his hot chocolate, will tough. 

"Sandy, lay off the eggnog my friend, remember I do not condone drinking and flying." 

North strolled into the Globe Room all smiles, like he hadn't just buggered off to places unknown. He had said that he wanted to wait until everyone got there before telling Aster what was going on. Well they were all there now so he could bloody well get on with it. Aster did have a holiday of his own to get back to after all.

"Oh, this better be good, North."

More glyphs of sand appeared above the Sandman's head. A clock with fast moving hands, a little sun and moon both rising and falling, obviously he was saying that he had a lot of work to do too. Either that or his clock was broken and seeing as Sandy didn't own a clock.

"I know, I know, but I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious." North said. 

Aster grumbled, because North wouldn't actually bother them unless it was urgent, he knew that. It just annoyed him that whatever it was just had to happen three days before Easter. 

"The Boogie Man was here - at the Pole."

Aster blinked. O.K that was unexpected. 

"Pitch? Pitch Black? Here?" Tooth suddenly did not seem very interested in sector whatever anymore. Her fairies had quieted down and were now huddling closer to their mistress. It was a sure sign that Tooth was distressed. Her mini fairies being a part of her felt her emotions as if they were their very own. Her distress was theirs and they broadcasted it whereas Tooth would not. 

North nodded, "Yes! There was black sand covering the globe."

"What, what . . . what do you mean black sand?" Aster stammered. Didn't North just say it was Pitch that he had seen? Pitch Black who had earned the name Boogieman and then some! You couldn't just drop that on a guy and then take it back. 

"And then a shadow!"

"Hold on," Aster held up his paws in the universal sign of time out. Frustration at North wasn't going to help him figure out what was going on. He just needed a moment to calm down. "Hold on, I thought you said you saw Pitch."

North looked a little sheepish now. "Well, ah, not exactly."

There wasn't going to be a Christmas next year. Aster ground his teeth together pointedly ignoring the scathing looks Tooth and her fairies shot him. If he wanted to grind them instead of murdering their delusional leader then by Manny he would! Frankly, he would rather deal with a few angry fairies then try to explain to the Man in the Moon why he needed a new Santa.

"Look, he is up to something very bad." North placed both of his large hands on his ample belly, and Aster just knew what was coming. "I feel it, in my belly."

Yup, he'd called it, North felt it in his belly. Trying to explain Santa Claus' absence to the Man in the Moon suddenly didn't seem to bad. Manny would probably just shine brightly at him for a bit then get over it. 

His eyes narrowing dangerously, Aster grounded out. "Hang on, you mean to say; you summoned me here three days before Easter - because of your belly? Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas."

"Please, Bunny- Easter is not Christmas."

Argument number 29 Easter vs. Christmas, it was something of a thing that he and North had on the go since their respective holidays had gotten so popular. Usually just in good fun, the two would bicker back and forth over which holiday the children enjoyed more. Which was all well and good, however, it rankled Aster something fierce when North put it that way, like he was discussing the weather or something equally unimportant and mundane. 

"North, I don't have time for this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up."

"No matter how much you paint, is still egg!" North said. That's part of argument 16; which is better an egg or a toy? 

"Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables, right, you've got all year to prepare." Argument number 10; who has it easier in the preparation department, "And if I don't get back to my Warren soon."

North just shakes his head. "Why are rabbits always so nervous?"

"And why are you always such a blowhard!" Aster fires back. Oh, argument number two, one of his favorites. 

He doesn't have time for this. None of them does really. 

"Come on, mate, Pitch went out with the dark ages. We made sure of that, remember?"

"I know it was him." North still argues and blast it all. Aster wants to believe his friend and at the same time, he wants to call him an old fool who has finally taken leave of his senses. 

"We have a serious situation!" North continues. 

"Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs." 

"Hey," it was Tooth, out of the corner of his eye Aster could see her and her fairies. They were edging closer to the two but staying back well enough just in case North and he came to blows. This had happened once or twice before. "I hate to interrupt the, 'we work so hard once a year club' But could we concentrate on the matter-"

Surprisingly it was Sandy, the ever-silent Guardian of dreams, which interrupted them. When Aster finally paid the little man attention, he was surprised to notice the elf that was being shook quite vigorously. Aster would have felt bad for the little person if he did not look like he was enjoying himself. Elves, they were a weird sort.

Now that the Sandman had gotten their attention, after trying a few times Aster would wager, he pointed to a sand glyph above his head, a crescent moon, and then pointed towards North's skylight. A full moon was shinning just a little more brilliantly than usual in through it. It was still daytime yet the satellite was as hard to look at as the sun. Aster squinted up at the Man in the Moon before shooting the other guardians questioning looks.

Luckily out of all of them North was the least awed by the first Guardian. Owing to the fact that he had actually met him once upon a time, or that was how the story went at least, so while he, Tooth, and Sandy blinked stupidly up at the flashing pretty lights North took action. 

"Ah, Man in Moon, Sandy, why didn't you say something?" North grinned down at the man who only glared back in response. Turning back to the moon, North exclaimed. "It's been a long time old friend! What is big news?"

In answer to North's question, the light of the moon grew even brighter, condensing into a single ray that hit the floor right above the ornate symbol of the Guardians. Slowly the light ebbed away, leaving a dark spot, which resolved into a frightening silhouette that still haunted Aster's nightmares. 

"It is Pitch." He breathed looking at North, an apology ready for his old friend.

But North just patted his belly giving him a knowing look. He smiled before turning back to look up at the moon. "Manny, what must we do?"

In answer to the man's question, the shadow of Pitch disappeared and Aster and the others watched the circle of moonlight shrink and concentrate, further illuminating the stylized G on the floor. The G gave way, a hidden compartment sliding open, revealing a large gem set on the head of a pillar. 

"Ah, guys, you know what this means?" Tooth spoke up.

It wasn't a question because they all bloody well knew what this meant. 

North still answered her anyway. "He's choosing a new Guardian."

"Why?" Aster couldn't help but ask. 

North shrugged not taking his eyes off the gem. The moonlight was bouncing off the gem's different facets casting funny shadows around North's Globe Room. "Must be big deal, Manny thinks we need help!"

"Since when do we need help?" Aster could not help but feel a little insulted at the insinuation. Sure, they hadn't taken care of Pitch permanently the last time. However, he could point out the hand that Manny had in that. With his whole 'there must be balance - a darkness to your light - and Pitch is an evil you know' spiel. 

Sometimes the Guardian of Hope wondered if there really could be anything out there darker then Pitch for them to worry about.

"I wonder who it's gonna be?" Tooth broke Aster out of his musings and he shot her a grateful smile for it. 

"Maybe the Leprechaun," She said to Sandy who was pointing to a Four-Leaf clover made out of sand. 

It could be anyone really. They certainly had not been guardian material when Manny had first chosen them to protect the children of Earth. The Leprechaun was as good a choice as any Aster supposed. At least in the past recent years he had been making a name for himself with the children. Heck it could even be that blasted groundhog! 

Aster frowned, "Please not the groundhog, Please not the groundhog."

The light flashed, wind rushed around them, and a figure began to resolve itself over the gem and pillar. Hooded, the figure was human shaped and hooded, bearing a familiar hooked staff. 

"Jack Frost." said North.

Tooth's mini fairies all sighed and swooned in unison and Aster found himself frowning more. "Ah, I take it back! The Groundhog's fine!"

Tooth sighed and Aster shot her a surprised look. Caught she stammered, "Well, ah, as long as he helps to ah, protect the children, right?"

"We must contact him at once!" North was smiling now, laughing and smiling, a fairy or two swooned at his teeth but the old man didn't notice. He tapped his foot, which must have triggered some hidden mechanism because the gem and pillar slowly receded into the ground. 

Jack Frost, the Man in the Moon had chosen Jack Frost, Aster's mind boggled at the notion. Not that Jack wasn't a good person. Quite the contrary actually, most spirits and legends would attest to that. He was a trickster at heart, but he was a trickster with a heart of gold. Jack Frost often times would work his wintery magic to help other spirits do their work. A cool and crisp night for all hallows eve so that children could dress up in the most ridicules get ups comfortably. A mysterious icy patch popping up around February 14th, usually just in time for a certain someone to trip up and land right in the path of an oncoming arrow. 

"North that's not a good idea," Tooth was shaking her head and looking at North as if he had lost his mind. Sandy was also shaking his head with a giant golden X hovering above him. "That's kidnapping and illegal last time I checked."

He shouldn't ask, he really shouldn't, for his sanity's sake Aster thinks to himself. It would be better to ignore whatever he had not heard in favor of something else. For starters, arguing the point that Jack Frost was many things, but not a Guardian with a capital G. 

Course morbid curiosity had always been one of his weaknesses. Curiosity killed that darn cat, but as Aster liked to point out, satisfaction brought it back! 

"Sorry North, didn't quite catch that."

"I said we just have to find him. Trap him in sack, and bring him through portal to here, is foolproof plan!"

"Of course it is," Aster turned to look at Tooth and Sandy and asked. "So who else has any ideas? You know for if you all won't listen to reason I mean."

Sandy frowned, a question mark and a snowflake dancing around above his head. Aster could guess along the lines just what the Sandman wanted to know. What's wrong with Jack Frost? Why don't you like him? Valid questions, yes, but that did not mean he wanted to answer them. 

Honestly anyway, "Look, Jack Frost is many things; irresponsible, selfish-"

"Guardian," North shook his head at Aster and the Pooka knew when he was beat. Didn't have to like it though. Therefore, when North suggested he be the one to go find their wayward new addition he flat out refused too. 

"I'll do it." Tooth said plucking the globe that North had been holding out to him. "I'll ask the wind for help to find him. He is a flyer to after all so the wind should know where he is. And we'll use this to get back here right quick."

She gave the little globe a shake letting the snow swirl around inside it. Without a destination spoken aloud the magic within it stayed dormant. 

"Great! Then you go Tooth and bring our new friend home. Bunny and I will prepare for his arrival!"

Tooth grinned and flew off with her fairies following close after. A little breeze tickled Aster's face and he wondered, watching Tooth suddenly speed up and out the nearest window, had a certain parental spirit of the wind been listening in on their conversation?


	6. Chapter 6

From his place, leaning against the far wall of the globe room, Aster watched the opening portal with feigned disinterest. It wasn't his preferred way of travel mind you. But he could admit that North's portals did have a certain flair to them. Too much red and green for his liking though and travel through them was too much like flying, something that he never could stand. 

A winter spirit fell, flailing to the ground, with a giggling fairy queen fluttering much more gracefully behind him. Aster snickered watching the boy slowly pick himself up using his staff for leverage. Jack Frost wasn't the most graceful flyer. He made North look like an expert on the subject really. So he had gotten use to, over time, recovering from the most embarrassing of landings. Aster had always thought it was very lucky that Jack was tougher then he looked. Otherwise it just wouldn't have been worth growing attached to the spirit that liked to make face first landings.

"Sorry Jack, maybe I should have been a little gentler. Are your teeth ok?"

Trust Tooth to be more worried about a bloke's teeth after dropping him out of the sky. Aster snorted as the usually regal lady fawned over the kid like a love sick teenager. He also ignored North's smile because no, just no, stupid North and his stupid 'Sweet Tooth' Jokes.

"Hey, it's Jack Frost! The big guy finally said, sweeping forward and thankfully leaving Aster be. He was content to stand back and watch the 'train wreck to be' at a distance, thank you. And he could see it already in the works with the way Jack's eyes shifted between the smiling Tooth Fairy and the grinning Santa Clause. He could see the way Jack shrank under their gazes, not in fear though, but coiling like a snake ready to strike at the first sign of danger. 

Sandy didn't help much either when he stepped up to jack, smiling that deceptively innocent little smile of his. When jack asked them what he was doing there. Wisps of dream sand shifted and morphed into a barrage of images above the little man's head. Even Aster, who had a very long time to learn the Sandman's language, had a little trouble understanding the little guy. Heck he even knew why jack was there! Yet the golden pictures cycling above Sandy's noggin meant nothing to him. 

They meant nothing to Jack too, "That's not really helping. But thanks, little man." He said, then turning to North and Tooth, flashing a sheepish smile that made the little fairies, and the bigger one, swoon. "I musta done something really bad to get you three together."

Aster stiffened, Jack hadn't noticed him yet. 

"Am I on the naughty list?" Jack asked.

"On naughty list," North chuckled. "You hold record! But no matter, we over look, now we are wiping clean the slate."

Jack's nose scrunched up and his eyebrows drew down and together as he squinted up at the bigger man, "How come?"

"How come, I tell you how come," and as if North had been planning this for years, not just since early that morning, the Yetis pulled out lit torches. The elves started playing on their little instruments. One or two more Yetis hoisted up a flag. And someone lowered celebratory banners of blue and white with a golden G on them embroidered on each of them.

"Because now you are Guardian!" 

"What are you doing?" A few of Tooth's fairies had flown over to present the winter spirit with a necklace of paper snowflakes. But when they had tried to slip it over his head Jack hadn't responded too well. "Get, get offa me! Ah, I mean, sorry Lady Tooth, ladies."

"This is best part!" North exclaimed, Sandy nodded and, Aster despite himself grinned. 

But not because he expected it to go over well, when the elf marching band or all things, marched into the room. Aster watched Jack look down to see a pair of the little buggers who had broken away from the proceedings. They each were carrying an ornamental pillow that had sat atop them one ceremonial boot each. The poor boy looked more and more confused when the elves pushed the god-awful looking things on him. 

Tooth grinned and fluttered down beside, gently pushing him to take the shoes. "North's idea, it's a gift to celebrate your becoming a Guardian, Jack." She leaned in a little closer and whispered. "Don't worry you don't actually have to wear them. Bunny and I keep our gifts in the back of our closets."

She laughed and looked over at him flashing one of her winning smiles and a wink. It was a joke between the three of them; himself, Tooth and, sandy. That they shared at North's expense. They told him that they wanted to save their 'Guardian gear' for special occasions. But always found an excuse to forget, lose, or just not wear the stuff. 

"Keep in mind my closet is a hole in the ground Sheila." Aster quipped, trying to look nonchalant when Jack finally noticed him. 

The look on the winter spirits face was somewhat comical. "Aster?" 

"Been a while mate, blizzard of 68 I believe?"

Jack hung his head, for all the world he looked like a chastised child, but Aster could see the cheeky little grin play across his face. "You're not still mad about that, are ya?"

"Yes."

"Peace Bunny," North said stepping between the two. Aster took in the large ornament book that North was carrying. Old and dusty and not something Aster remembered seeing since Sandy's swearing in as a Guardian, or was it Tooth who was the last to take the oath that North and Manny had come up with all those years ago?

"Uh," Jack took a step back, then another, almost tripping over an elf in his hasty retreat. "Wait, wait, what makes you think I even want to be a Guardian?"

North burst into laughter at that. Holding the book against his burly chest the older man laughed and laughed. Then stopped just as suddenly as he started, stoned faced, he said. "Of course you do."

"No I don't." Jack frowned twirling his staff in front of him. When he got spooked, his stave was both weapon and shield. Right now, it looked like the boy would use the staff to deflect whatever North said to him. "Look, this is all very flattering, but a . . . you don't want me. You're all hard work and deadlines."

Jack bopped one of the elves that wandered to close to him on the head. It froze in spot and toppled over. Aster watched it bounce a little before coming to a stop. Two other elves slowly crept over to their fallen friend.

"And I'm all snowballs and fun times. I'm not a Guardian."

"Jack I don't think you understand what it is we do." Tooth zipped forward; she gently took him by the shoulders and turned the winter spirit, pointing him towards the massive globe housed in North's aptly named 'Globe Room.' "Each of those lights is a child."

"A child who believes," North said moving to stand alongside Jack and Tooth. "And good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them." 

"I know, I know, you're the Guardians of Childhood, you guard their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams." Jack shrugged his way out of Tooth's grasp and hopped back towards the center of the room. "I don't know what that has to do with me though. Don't you guys have everything down path?"

"Okay, no more wishy-washy!" North said. "Pitch is out there doing who knows what!"

Jack scoffed. "You mean the Boogeyman?"

"Yes!" North said pointing towards the globe. "When Pitch threatens us, he threatens them as well."

"All the more reason to pick someone more qualified." Jack said, he had turned to look at the globe again, the little lights of the believers, that was what he was looking at longingly. He used to do the same in the Warren. Stare at Aster's much more economically sized globe that he kept in the lower part of his burrow.

North shook his head. Aster could tell that he was not expecting all the resistance. Most spirits and legends would jump at the chance to become a Guardian. "Pick? You think we pick. No, you were chosen like we were all chosen, buy Man in Moon."

That got jack's attention, "What?"

Aster frowned, Jack always was a little too interested in the moon for his liking. You could yell until you were blue in the face. Jack Frost would just ignore you and go about his merry business. However, mention the moon and he would suddenly get serious an actually listen. 

"Last night, Jack. He chose you." Tooth seemed to get that crowding the winter spirit was not the way to go about things. This time she and her fairies hung back at arm's length. 

"The Man in the Moon, he talks to you?" 

Aster caught the hurt look Jack shot his way before the spirit turned his attention up to the skylight. 

"You see, you cannot say no. It is destiny." North beamed.

Aster did not think Jack was listening to them anymore.

"But why wouldn't he tell me that himself then?" Jack was still looking up at the skylight. "After 300 years this is your answer? Well it's too little too late, no, this is not the job for me. I'm sorry."

And he walked away.

"Yeah, walk away Frost, what do you know about brining joy to children anyway?" The words were out before Aster could even think to sensor them. 

They got the winter spirits attention. Jack stopped and turned to glare back at him. "Uh, you ever hear of a snow day? I know it's no hard - boiled egg, but kids like what I do."

"Not enough to believe in you, mate, you're invisible to 'em." Aster growled it was low and menacing. Some of Tooth's mini fairies squeaked in fear. Darn Jack Frost, he could do things to him, make him feel like no one else could. Too bad anger was at the top of the list of those feelings right now.

It was also too bad that Aster knew exactly where to throw his punches. "It's like you don't even exist." He spat. 

"Bunny that is enough," Tooth pushed her way in between the two of them. Her angry stare, which had cowed armies back in the day, was fixed firmly upon him.

"No, the kangaroo's right." Jack sneered.

"Jack," Tooth warned turning her withering gaze on him. Aster snickered when the usually mouthy young spirit shrank back in terror.

"Ugh, boys," Tooth rolled her eyes and her fairies nodded and tutted along with her. "North, a little help here please?"

The big man nodded and motioned for Jack to follow him. Jack looked like he wanted to refuse, but thought better of it, and followed North to the elevators anyway. One of Tooth's little fairies twittered and chirped in displeasure at him before zooming off after the boy. Tooth did not seem too bothered by this; Aster found he was a little annoyed though. 

"It's nothing personal," Aster heard the winter spirit say as the elevator carried them away to some other part of North's workshop. 

"What was that? What?" Tooth was in his face, drowning out the rest of what Jack had to say, someone really had to see the Sheila down and give her a good talking to about personal space. Aster would not of course because he liked his choppers where they were thank-you very much. However, someone really should. 

"I don't know what a happened between you two." Tooth growled, growled at him! 

"What do you mean?" Aster asked. 

"I mean, so Jack dumped a little snow during your holiday. Did you ever think that maybe he was supposed to? Bunny there has been snow storms during Easter long before Jack came along."

"But,"

"It's not like he's a malicious spirit. I mean have you met some other winter spirits. The mortals write stories about how bad they can be! Mortals that don't even believe in us are afraid of them!"

"Sheila it's complicated." 

"No it's not. You just have to swallow your pride and be the bigger man!" Tooth snapped.

"I'm not a man, I'm a bunny." Aster mumbled. 

Tooth looked like she was ready to say more, she didn't though, instead she cocked her head to the side as if she was listening to something. Her brow furrowed in concentration and she gasped. "My girls!"

"What, Sheila wait, where are you going?" He called after her. Tooth had turned and made for the nearest window without even a how do you do.

"My girls, I can hear them, they're in trouble! I have to get back to the palace!"

Pitch, it had to be Pitch Black, he was finally making his move and it was directly against one of them. Emotions warred inside him. There was fear and anger, the need to run and hide in the deepest part of his Warren, and the need to follow Tooth and kick some arse. In the end, he found himself racing through North's factory, a Yetie or two pointing him in the direction that North and Jack had gone.

Luckily, North and Jack were standing outside of North's office when he and Sandy, who he had dragged away from the eggnog, came running up to them. 

"We have a problem, mate! Trouble at the Tooth Palace."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this grand plan to do up paragraphs of descriptive detail on the Tooth Palace and fleshing out her mythos, for the next chapter you see. Cause surprisingly enough Tooth was my favorite Guardian, yeah I know right? But meh, We well see I guess! Update hopefully within the week if it isn't loaded down with description and stuff.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a new chapter . . . just technical difficulties with the first update that sort of made chapter seven into chapter eight. Now to see if I can still go reply to reviews even though I accidentally deleted them.
> 
> Can't seem to, so . . . Shinku if you look over this again, thanks for the heads up! I didn't notice that it had posted as chapter eight.
> 
> Every1's Beta, you are way to kind. Glad to see you still like it! 
> 
> Kayla, trust me when I say that it has to end up a Jackrabbit fic. Can't answer all your questions, you'll just have to read what happens next! Hopefully.
> 
> Again, sorry guys! Didn't intentionally delete your reviews. Honestly, those things are to me what children's belief is to the Guardians. Why would I do a thing like that? haha see what I did there?

Funny piece of trivia, which Jack would happily take to the grave, he did not in fact radiate cold. That is he did not usually. However because his powers, like most other magical beings, were tied to his emotions, there were incidents where things tended to get out of hand. A cold snap here a blizzard there. He had always hated his lack of control. It was a source of annoyance to him; his emotions on display like that, for everyone to see, if they bothered looking.

 

That was why, even though he had jumped at the chance to help with the tooth collecting, he kept a fair distance from the Guardians. Happy to let them have their own fun as they turned the simple act of collecting children's teeth into a healthy if not exaggerated competition. The winter spirit might have had a hand it that, when he had exclaimed, a little louder than was strictly necessary, that North's bag of teeth was much bigger than any of their own were. That it was no wonder that he could collect so many teeth in one night. After all, he did dispense presents all over the world in single night too.

 

If a certain Easter Bunny had heard Jack's flattery. Well it wasn't his fault that Aster's ears were so big and had a tendency to pick up things the Pooka had no business hearing.

 

"Those two, they act more like the children they're supposed to protect, than the actual Guardians they are."

 

Jack started, almost falling from his perch atop the billboard he'd been sitting. Unlike the others, he had been focusing on the teeth collecting, clearing out the sector that the Tooth Fairy had assigned him already. Finished and with nothing better to do, Jack had settled in to enjoy the show. 

 

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Toothiana was hovering to the left and just a little above him. Baby Tooth was with her and when he waved at the little fairy, she zoomed down to land on his shoulder. Twittering happily about all the antics she had seen her mother's friends getting up to while they tried to collect teeth.

 

"It's alright Lady Tooth."

 

"Jack, my friends call me Tooth."

 

He smiled a toothy smile in response to that. The Tooth Fairy was not as bad as he imagined her to be. It really was too bad that he hadn't gotten around to meeting the Guardians. Sure, he and Aster had tossed the idea around, mostly him, but nothing had ever really come of it. Sadly, because of that he had gone on resenting the fairy queen rather unjustly. He'd make up for that of course. Still, years of conditioning were hard to go against.

 

Jack nodded, "Forgive me my lady. It's just what I was taught."

 

Tooth, it was at least easy for him to think of her as that, laughed showing off her own perfectly pearly whites. "I guess that's just your colonial roots showing through. You did grow up in the 1700's right; I think that's when I first started hearing stories about you."

 

Jack's grin faltered, "My what?"

 

"Your manners Jack, the ones your mother most likely taught you. Although, maybe your dad was as much the gentleman as you are too? You have to tell me about them some time."

 

Jack jumped, catching an updraft he floated up alongside Tooth. Baby Tooth squealed indignantly at the jostling about. He paid her little attention though. "Lady Tooth what are you talking about?"

 

"Your family, Jack I would understand if it's painful to talk about your time before becoming Jack Frost. But like I said, I'm your friend, and I'm here to listen if you need me."

 

A chattering close to his ear caught Jack's attention. Tooth laughed, "And so is, Baby Tooth, is that what you call her? She's here to listen too."

 

"But I," he let the wind carry him, tossing him from one updraft to another. To onlookers that could actually see him. It would look like Jack was playing around. Doing spins and summersaults in the sky.

 

Actually he was falling.

 

"I've always been me. I don't, I didn't. There's nothing before that."

 

Tooth frowned at him and jack squawked in surprise when she caught him in a surprisingly strong grip. Holding him steadily in place, Tooth peered at him. For one crazy moment, Jack was sure that she wasn't looking at him. But was looking right through him, seeing something else what though, he wasn't sure.

 

"You don't remember." She said.

 

The dawning look of horror sent Jack into a panic. "I'm sorry Lady Tooth, I didn't mean, I mean, I didn't know." He didn't know what he was apologising for, was what he had meant. The only thing he was certain of was that someone was finally paying attention to him again. He really did not want to mess that up.

 

"Oh, honey," the Tooth Fairy, cooed at him. "Don't be sorry. Oh Jack, how come you never said anything?"

 

"I didn't know, no one told me."

 

"Not even one of the other winter spirits?"

 

Jack frowned. "I don't actually know any of the other winter spirits. The few that I've crossed paths with never really acknowledged me. Winter spirits aren't sociable creatures you see. I could count all of my dealings with other winter spirits on one hand I'd wager."

 

"Surely someone must have explained things to you?"

 

Jack hadn't even suspected that he had had a life before he woke up in his pond. He'd never thought to ask anyone about where he came from. He had just assumed that like other nature spirits, he too had been born from nature. Sure he was a little different, but not by that much.

 

Was he?

 

"-wish I had known sooner." Tooth was talking again. "I could have helped you."

 

"How," Jack asked. Curious as to just how the Tooth Fairy would have gone about that. Would she have given him the spirit version of the 'where babies come from' speech? Jack chuckled at that earning a small frown from Tooth.

 

"When someone needs to remember what's important, my girls and I help them." She pointed at the bag of teeth he was still holding. He'd forgotten about the little sack, a miniature version of North's toy bag, the jolly old man had gave him it to carry his teeth in. "That's why we collect the teeth. They hold the most important memories of childhood. My fairies and I watch over them."

 

"Memories, teeth hold memories?" Jack held the bag up between them, giving both it and Tooth a disbelieving look. "You jest, surely."

 

Tooth shook her head. "We had everyone's memories, even yours Jack, from before you became Jack Frost."

 

"But I really wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost." Jack frowned down at the bag in his hand. Turning back to Tooth, he said. "I was born from a pond, natural, like other nature spirits." He shook his head. "I didn't have a family Lady Tooth. No mother or father took care of me or raised me. What few manners I've learned over the years are from watching humans interacting with each other."

 

The Tooth Fairy looked pained, as if each of Jack's protests struck her a physical blow. He ducked his head, ashamed; there was an apology on the tip of his tongue and everything.

 

"Of course you were. We were all someone before we were chosen." Tooth winked and flashed another one of her winning smiles. "What did you think, Jack, that I was always into collecting teeth? I was human once too and so was North. Sandy and Bunny though, they're a little different."

 

Jack was aware of the fact that Aster was a space rabbit, or Pooka, as Jack found himself corrected repeatedly. One of the first points they had covered when things had begun to heat up between the two of them. Back when they had first met, Jack had thought Aster was just animal shaped spring spirit.

 

The Sandman was different though, made of the stuff of dreams and originally a wishing star before crash landing on Earth. Aster had shared a little of Sandy's story with him. However, talk of the 'Golden Age' often put the giant rabbit in a sour mood.  Jack was careful to avoid those conversations.

 

"But that night at the pond, I just, I had just assumed." Jack was dancing around in the air now, talking more to himself than to Tooth. He whipped back around pointing at her with the hand that held the bag of teeth. "Are you really saying that I had a life before? With a home? And a family?"

 

"Yes."

 

"You have to show me."

 

Tooth shrugged, that pained look back on her face. "I can't, Jack. Pitch has your teeth too."

 

"Then we have to get them back!"

 

"We will."

 

He wasn't used to the to the fearsome look that Tooth, who was usually all smiles, was wearing now. Of course, he had known her personally all of one night, or day, or something. Time zone changes still confused Jack. But the fact still remained that the angry look was at odds with the view he had formed of her in his own mind.

 

Tooth seemed to sense this unease. She chuckled, mouth hidden behind her palm in a self-conscious fashion, coloring slightly in her cheeks. On most mortals and immortals, a blush would have stained their cheeks with a rosy hue. Jack was surprised to note that Tooth's face took on a light violet coloring.

 

Jack grinned, "But first let's take care of you."

 

The Tooth Fairy smiled and Jack grinned back, before shouting in surprise. Tooth, without his noticing, had snuck close enough to grab his hand, the one not clutching his staff but the bag of teeth.

 

"Come on Jack! Next stop is Burgess. There was a boy who lost his tooth in a freak sledding accident after getting knocked down by a couch." She glanced back at him as he was being dragged alongside her. "I wonder how that happened."

 

Jack laughed. 


	8. Chapter 8

Never again, Aster vowed as he lent over the side of the death trap North called a sleigh. Seated to the right of him, the little Sandman patted his arm. Even though he was still too terrified to open his eyes, he could just imagine the look of concern on his friends face. Sandy had sooth the nightmares of each of the guardians many times over since taking up guardianship of the dreamers of Earth. He knew what scared each of them, what scared him, and while the sleigh was safe enough and he trusted North with his life. The fear was still there and he couldn't blame all of it on Pitch. 

"I don't see why you are over reacting." North grumbled. 

"It's in my nature to want to be close to the ground." He answered, hefting himself up and over the side of the sleigh. It felt good to have solid ground under his feet again. He glanced up and grinned at the frowning Cossack. "I mean come on North! Look at me! Do I look like I was built for flying?"

Sandy waved to catch his attention. Aster frowned at the little golden image the Sandman was projecting. Above Sandy's head, there was a bipedal rabbit. Obviously it was Aster, it was a perfect likeness after all, save for the wings protruding from the pooka's back.

"No Sandy, shape shifting doesn't count." He would have said more, but North was already on the move. "Oie, wait up North."

"Come, we must find Tooth and Jack to see who is winner of contest! And to make sure Tooth is alright!" the big guy called over his shoulder without breaking stride. 

He was headed for one of the houses, how he knew which home Tooth and Jack were in- or how the two were together- Aster wouldn't have been able to say. Chalking it up to the whole 'knows if your asleep or awake or been bad or good' thing. He hurried after the man, with Sandy floating close behind, and thankfully, there was no winged Aster in sight now. 

"it's funny but I had expected there to be more work to this, with way Tooth gets on sometimes."

"In her defence mate, the Sheila does do this every night and the number of children who lose their teeth does vary from day to day. I think this was one of her slow nights actually."

"Of course, of course," North nodded, probably not even listening to what Aster had to say.

He huffed, before taking one more look around to make sure the coast was clear. It was late, but he had noticed a few lights still on in some of the houses that dotted the street. While the chances of an ankle bitter being awake were slim, there was still the possibility that an adult would spot them, if they were magically inclined or still held onto that spark of belief. It was one of the few drawbacks of being a Guardian. While most magical beings could get by easily, blending in if need be or just being outright invisible, he and the others tend to stick out.

A tap on his shoulder startled Aster out of his musings. Sandy was pointing up; following the little man's gaze, he caught sight of North shimmying up the side of the house. Rolling his eyes, Aster crouched down and pushed off. 

North shouted in surprise, Aster looked down and shushed him, Sandy was laughing silently at the whole ordeal as he floated up beside them. Finally, the three began their quick and mostly graceful accent up the side of the house. The entering of the dwelling was a lot less graceful, and that was saying something, than the climb itself. Aster pretended not to notice the chuckling Tooth Fairies or the smiling winter spirit. Brushing his fur back into place he glared at both North and Sandy.

"Tooth! How are you feeling?" North bellowed.

"Shush!" Aster hissed, he and the others watched the sleeping child for signs of movement. When it looked like they were safe, he growled. "North, you gumby, kid's trying to sleep."

"Sorry," North whispered. "But Toothy, how are you feeling, really?"

Tooth smiled and did a little twirl in the air. "Believed in."

"So, the night was a success?" Jack asked. 

"This night, but we can't keep this up ourselves. Easter is coming up and I'll have to devote my time to that. Sandy can't pull double duty every night either." 

Tooth nodded, Aster blinked in surprise- she never agreed that easily. 

"It's true," She leant closer to Jack. "Plus these two," here she pointed at North and him. "They couldn't handle the full time job anyway."

Jack laughed. "I know right? Mr works one day out of the year over there." 

Aster growled, glaring at the two, not liking that Tooth and Jack were ganging up on him. "You know perfectly well that a lot of work goes into Easter preparation, mate."

"Starting the month before April, the rest of the time, you just laze around your garden eating carrots." Jack shot back. 

Aster shrugged, he couldn't exactly argue with that. Of course, Jack hadn't seen him during the days back when Easter was all he had. One single purpose and one sure-fire way to keep Pitch Black and his fear under control, his holiday had been his life for a long time. Then there were the Easters following the Easter of 68. Those were almost as bad as the ones pre-dating a certain winter spirit. 

"We must strike back against Pitch."

Aster's head swivelled back around to North. He did keep watch over the troublemakers out of the corner of his eye though. He didn't like how close Tooth was hovering. 

"He is attempting to destroy the belief of the children." North was speaking again. "And we, we must enforce it."

The man was right. The damage done by Pitch in one night had nearly done Tooth in. Which in and of its self didn't set well with Aster. Unlike North and himself, who both had a certain day to work with the children, Tooth worked with them in small groups each night. Yes those small groups could range anywhere from in the low thousands to the high millions in a single night. (The number of kids who lost a tooth in the run of a day was not a set thing after all.) But really, out of the billions of kids who believed, the loss of belief of a couple million shouldn't have impacted Tooth at all.

It was worrying. 

"Easter is tomorrow." He said slowly. Giving voice to a plan that he didn't altogether like the idea of. "If we work together I think we can strike back against Pitch. He's using fear against us? Then we'll just take away that fear. What do you guys say?"

"I say it's a brilliant idea." North grinned even as he said. "Too bad Christmas has already gone pass, but maybe Easter would be better for what we must do. The children need hope now."

That was as close as Aster would ever come to hearing Nicolas St. North complementing Easter. Grinning maniacally, he tapped his foot twice, opening a tunnel. "Alright lady, gentlemen, and frostbite, everyone pile in."

North dived in with his usual abandon, Aster cringed, but the sleeping child remained oblivious to what was going on around him. Tooth and Sandy made much more dignified and quiet exits. Tooth fluttered down into the tunnel as graceful as ever. Her mini Tooth riding on her shoulder. While Sandy jumped, much like North had, only he floated slowly down into the hole using a parasol made of sand. 

That just left. 

"Um, so, is it ok if I," Aster watched Jack shrug and turn to stare out the window. "I could just stick around here, watch the kids?"

It would have been easy to say yes. To have Jack stay behind under the pretence of watching out for the children while the Guardians did their work. However, Aster was nothing if not practical. The combined knowhow that North, Tooth and, Sandy possessed on the subject of chocolate making wasn't much really. North tended to leave the treat making part of Christmas up to the Yetis. Tooth was more conservative when it came to candies and the like, her field being tooth care after all. And Sandy, being a former wishing star, didn't actually eat. He could knock back North's special eggnog with the best of them. But that was all Aster ever seen the little man touch.

Jack Frost, he had been living in the Warren, working alongside Aster for years. Jack knew the ends and outs of all of Aster's Easter preparations. It would have been stupid to turn away his help.

At least that's what he told himself. Aster waved at the tunnel and grumbled at Jack to get a move on. The spirit crept slowly over to the hole in the floor, shot him a surprisingly sheepish expression, and then jumped in. 

Aster sighed, releasing a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding. Then he jumped in after the others.

It was going to be a long Easter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so close to the part of the story that I've been looking forward to the most. That chapter is still in the works, cause of course it can't be easy to write, oh no! And the less we say about how the plot keeps changing because of the sequel that's in the works. (Trying to cobble together a good plot for a sequel should only be done when the first story is finished.) 
> 
> Anyway, did anyone catch a really big change in this story? One that can sort of tie into Jack and Bunny being in a relationship prior to things I guess. I mean if I do throw a little black ice in here then it does. . . you'll just have to wait and see next chapter I guess. Which will be posted today as well! To make up for the really long wait between updates. Both the previous long update times and the long update times to come, cause I'm slow.


	9. Chapter 9

The lights of belief twinkled at him, taunting him; they had been going out one by one, slowly at first. However, as the morning went on and more and more children woke to find their teeth still under their pillow, the little lights had twinkled out faster and faster. 

Pitch chuckled at his cleverness, danced around the cavernous room he called home in happiness. He had known that it would be foolhardy to take on the Guardians as a group. He had known that attacking one would alert the others before he had a chance to take them all out. He had known all this and he had planned accordingly for it.

He had attacked them all at once, using their greatest strength against them. Magic was fueled by belief; a spell couldn't be cast if the caster didn't have convection in what they were doing. A spell couldn't last if the caster didn't believe in their magic. That was why one of the more sure-fire ways of breaking a spell or curse or whatever, was to kill the caster. If you took away the belief then you took away the magic's source of power.

The same held true for the spells woven by the moon. Intricate in design, the magic behind the Guardians was something that Pitch could never hope to break or unravel. After all, you couldn't kill the moon, he'd tried. But, if he could take away the source of power behind the magic of the guardians. Then the spells cast by the moon would fail and the protectors of childhood would fall.

The Boogieman had set about his plans in the usual fashion, trickery and misdirection. Like a magician, he had misdirected his audience. He had the Guardians all in a titter about the children losing their belief in the Tooth fairy, because all her little helpers were gone, and they didn't even stop to wonder why it was he had bothered to take the teeth too. 

"Your mother and her friends have no idea what I've done." He taunted the little fairies as one by one; their little wings stopped beating, no longer able to support them without the power of belief to grant them flight. "It's happening slowly, but the lights on this globe are tied to the general belief of the Guardians as a whole. Not just your mother and yet," He danced in front of the globe pointing out each spot a light once glowed. "And yet all the lights on here are going out!"

He could see the fear in the fairies eyes, taste it, he reveled in it. They were not simpleminded little creatures. Oh no, while he may have called them Toothiana's children, he knew in fact that they were more a part of her than actually born of her. They knew all that she knew and they knew exactly what someone could do to a person if they held something strongly connected to them. It was old and dark magic that he invoked, using the lost teeth that Toothiana and her fairies collected. It didn't have to be teeth for the spell to work. But it made it easier to twist the children's memories using the very things that contained them.

"They're forgetting all their hopes and dreams." He cackled, spinning a cage around, delighting in the terrified cries of the fairies stuck inside. "They can't remember the wonder of the gifts the Guardians bring them because I'm taking their memories away."

A nightmare galloped up to him, distracting him from his game of taunt the fairies. Its wild eyes obscured the spark of intelligence in them. But Pitch knew just how brilliant his creations were. If one sought to interrupt him during his playtime? Then it must have been for a good reason.

The creature neighed, surprising, considering it did not have vocal cords. Pitch frowned at the creature then at the brightly lit globe. "They're collecting the teeth?"

The excited twittering of mini fairies was back again, echoing throughout his lair. Pitch snarled, "Oh pipe down, or I'll stuff a pillow with you!" He waved at the nightmare that had brought him the news and the creature dispersed into tiny particles of corrupt dream sand. That quieted the little ones down quick enough.

"Fine, have your last hurrah." Pitch growled up at the globe. A strand of corrupt dream sand from the dispatched nightmare twisted in the air. Pitch caught it, twirling it between his fingers, turning it into a crude image. "For tomorrow, all your pathetic scrambling will be for nothing. And we will see just how a certain rabbit deals with his worst fear."

Pitch clenched his hand into a tight fist, crushing the sandy image of a human shaped rabbit holding an egg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Pitch, ladies and gentlemen. The dude scares me, which I guess is a good thing. If he didn't he wouldn't make much of a boogie man now would he? He's suppose to know your deepest fear, the one that you wont even admit to yourself. I wonder what Bunny's is? A few of them have been put out there, did you catch them? Or maybe the clue to what it is, is in the next chapter? 
> 
> You'll find out come Saturday! Even if it kills me I'm moving this fic up to a weekly update thing. Can't say what day during the week. But I need to set this challenge for myself or I'll never finish this. . . ok every two weeks? Oh lordy, I hope this doesn't turn out like those English assignments I was suppose to do. But never did.
> 
> Until next time people!


End file.
